WISCONSIN CATHOLIC CONFERENCE WCC Logo with name
Capitol Update
May 6, 2019Like us on Facebook
Contents Include:
1. WCC Urges Action at Hearings on Pro-Life Legislation
2. WCC Urges Support for Budget Priorities
3. Catholics at the Capitol Marks 50 Years of WCC Advocacy
4. Visit the WCC's Newly-Designed Website
5. Upcoming Hearings of Interest
6. New Bills of Interest
 
WCC Urges Action at Hearings on Pro-Life Legislation
Tomorrow in four separate public hearings, Assembly and Senate Committees will review four pieces of legislation that aim to protect children, provide more information to women seeking abortion, and better track and regulate the provision of abortion in Wisconsin. Much like similar federal legislation, the WCC supports Senate Bill 175 (Sen. Roger Roth, R-Appleton) and its companion, Assembly Bill 179 (Rep. Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna). Known as the Born Alive Survivors Protection Act, this proposal establishes a standard of required medical care for infants who survive an induced abortion.
 
Senate Bill 173 (Sen. Patrick Testin, R-Stevens Point) and Assembly Bill 182 (Rep. Barbara Dittrich, R-Oconomowoc) prohibit selective abortions, which are abortions that are sought solely because of the race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, or disability of the unborn child. Senate Bill 174 (Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield) and Assembly Bill 180 (Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester) require that a woman seeking an abortion via medication be informed that she may be able to continue her pregnancy if she seeks immediate medical assistance to counteract the effects of the first administration of the abortion drug. The proposal also requires improved abortion reporting to the state.
 
Finally, Senate Bill 187 (Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville) and Assembly Bill 183 (Rep. Dittrich) and Assembly Bill 181 (Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls) all prohibit the state from certifying a private abortion services provider or affiliate under the Medicaid program. However, SB 187 and AB 183 provide an exemption for facilities that perform abortions in order to save the life of the mother, to prevent grave, long-lasting damage to her health, or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
 
While the WCC supports a comprehensive ban on abortion, these bills represent a collective positive step to better defend children, before and after birth, to educate women, and to make certain the State of Wisconsin does not support elective abortion. For more information on hearing times and locations, see the "Hearings of Interest" section.
 
WCC Urges Support for Budget Priorities
As part of its Catholic at the Capitol event, the WCC urged support for its state budget priorities, which are detailed in the WCC's 2019-2021 State Budget Issue Brief. Please contact your legislators and urge them to support the measures identified in the WCC issue brief.
 
The Co-Chairs of the Joint Committee on Finance (JCF) released a memorandum describing the Committee's process for reviewing the proposed 2019-21 state budget (Senate Bill 59 and Assembly Bill 56). The document also lists 131 items that the JCF Committee Co-Chairs have indicated that they intend to remove from the budget through a motion offered at the JCF's initial executive session, scheduled for May 9.
 
Among the items eliminated from the budget are proposals that the WCC supports, such as the expansion of Medicaid and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); the provision of immigrant driver and identification cards; increased four-year-kindergarten funding; and returning 17-year-old offenders to the juvenile justice system. However, the JCF Co-Chairs have also indicated that they plan to remove a multitude of changes to the Parental Choice and Special Needs Scholarship programs; to retain the private school tuition tax deduction; and to retain the prohibition on Title V, Title X, and Women's Health block grant funding to abortion providers and affiliates, all of which the WCC supports.
 
Catholics at the Capitol Marks 50 Years of WCC Advocacy
Over 240 people attended Catholics at the Capitol 2019, held at the Monona Terrace and Convention Center on Tuesday, April 30. Participants experienced prayer, formation, and advocacy, including a moving keynote address from Vincent Noth and Samantha Vosters of Milwaukee's Riverwest Food pantry. Noth and Vosters explained how they are working to establish a "community of generosity" that focuses on the structural causes of poverty in the City of Milwaukee and surrounding regions.
 
The conference also featured five educational breakout sessions, including discussions on homelessness, Latino ministry, pro-life health care, prison ministry and Catholic social teaching. A highlight of the conference was a trip to the State Capitol for a service to celebrate the WCC's 50th anniversary. Afterwards, participants visited their state legislators to discuss the WCC's state budget priorities. Materials provided as part of the day are available on the Catholics at the Capitol website.
 
The WCC would like to thank all who attended and contributed to the success of the day. Your presence and feedback allow the WCC to offer an authentic Catholic voice to Wisconsin's public policy debate.
 
Visit the WCC's Newly-Designed Website
The WCC recently launched a newly-designed website, which features separate areas for parish and legislative resources. The web address remains wisconsincatholic.org, but visitors can now access the WCC's Facebook page and YouTube Channel.  
 
Upcoming Hearings of Interest
(N.B. Only bills of interest are flagged. In most cases, committees will be considering other bills as well.)
 
Assembly Health, 9:00 am, Tue, May 7, 412-E
 AB-183 Abortion Provider Certification (Dittrich, Barbara) Certification of abortion providers under the Medical Assistance program.
AB-182 Selective Abortions (Dittrich, Barbara) Sex-selective, disability-selective, and other selective abortions and providing a penalty.
AB-180 Induced Abortion Information (Vos, Robin) Informed consent regarding a certain abortion-inducing drug regimen and reporting requirements for induced abortions.
AB-179 Abortion Requirements (Steineke, Jim) Requirements for children born alive following abortion or attempted abortion and providing a penalty.
AB-181 Abortion Providers (Brandtjen, Janel) Certification of abortion providers in the Medical Assistance program.
 
Senate Committee On Government Operations, Technology, & Consumer Protection, 10:00 am, Tue, May 7, 411-S
SB-174 Induced Abortion Information (Kapenga, Chris) Informed consent regarding a certain abortion-inducing drug regimen and reporting requirements for induced abortions.
SB-187 Abortion Provider Certification (Stroebel, Duey) Certification of abortion providers under the Medical Assistance program.
 
Senate Committee On Health & Human Services, 11:00 am, Tue, May 7, 300-SE
SB-173 Selective Abortions (Testin, Patrick) Sex-selective, disability-selective, and other selective abortions and providing a penalty.
 
Senate Committee On Judiciary & Public Safety, 1:00 pm, Tue, May 7, 201 SE
 SB-175 Abortion Requirements (Roth, Roger) Requirements for children born alive following abortion or attempted abortion and providing a penalty.
 
Speaker's Task Force On Water Quality, 10:30 am, Wed, May 8, Youth & Ag Building, 916 E. Elm St., Lancaster
 Invited Speakers:
  • Southwest Wisconsin Groundwater and Geology Study
  • Lafayette Ag Stewardship Alliance
  • Wisconsin Pork Producers Association
  • UW-Platteville Pioneer Farms
  • Discovery Farms
Following scheduled testimony, the committee will take testimony from members of the public.
 
New Bills of Interest
SB-137 Nitrate Testing (Testin, Patrick) Nitrate testing pilot program, granting rule-making authority, and making an appropriation. Referred to Senate Committee on Natural Resources & Energy AB-148 (Kurtz, Tony)
 
SB-138 Professional Development Training (Darling, Alberta) Professional development training in character education for teachers, pupil service professionals, principals, and school district administrators, granting rule-making authority, and making an appropriation. Referred to Senate Committee on Education AB-149(Rodriguez, Jessie)
 
SB-144 Housing Cost Grants (Olsen, Luther) Grants to defray housing costs and for diversion programming and making an appropriation. Referred to Senate Committee on Utilities & Housing
 
SB-145 Homeless Case Management (Olsen, Luther) Homelessness case management services and making an appropriation. Referred to Senate Committee on Public Benefits, Licensing, & State-Federal Relations
 
SB-151 Immigration Policy Prohibition (Nass, Steve) Prohibiting local ordinances, resolutions, and policies that prohibit the enforcement of federal or state law relating to illegal aliens or immigration status, authorizing certain elective officeholders to commence an enforcement action, providing a reduction in shared revenue payments, and creating governmental liability for damages caused by illegal aliens. Referred to Senate Committee on Labor & Regulatory Reform
 
SB-155 Health Care Provider Program (Darling, Alberta) Participation in the Volunteer Health Care Provider program by agencies serving homeless individuals. Referred to Senate Committee on Insurance, Financial Services, Government Oversight, & Courts AB-162 (Thiesfeldt, Jeremy)
 
SB-173 Selective Abortions (Testin, Patrick) Sex-selective, disability-selective, and other selective abortions and providing a penalty. Referred to Senate Committee on Health & Human Services AB-182 (Dittrich, Barbara)
 
SB-174 Induced Abortion Information (Kapenga, Chris) Informed consent regarding a certain abortion-inducing drug regimen and reporting requirements for induced abortions. Referred to Senate Committee on Government Operations, Technology, & Consumer Protection AB-180 (Vos, Robin)
 
SB-175 Abortion Requirements (Roth, Roger) Requirements for children born alive following abortion or attempted abortion and providing a penalty. Referred to Senate Committee on Judiciary & Public Safety AB-179 (Steineke, Jim)
 
SB-183 Special Ed Licenses (Marklein, Howard) Requirements for initial licensure as a special education teacher. Referred to Senate Committee on Education AB-194 (Tranel, Travis)
 
SB-184 Reciprocity Licenses (Marklein, Howard) A license to teach based on reciprocity and granting rule-making authority. Referred to Senate Committee on Education AB-195 (Tranel, Travis)
 
SB-187 Abortion Provider Certification (Stroebel, Duey) Certification of abortion providers under the Medical Assistance program. Referred to Senate Committee on Government Operations, Technology, & Consumer Protection AB-183 (Dittrich, Barbara)
 
SB-191 Adoption Tax Credit (Bernier, Kathy) Creating a nonrefundable individual income tax credit for certain adoption expenses and modifying eligibility for the adoption expenses tax deduction. Referred to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Revenue, & Financial Institutions
 
AB-140 Self Insurance by Religious Sects (Kulp, Bob) Self-insurance by religious sects for purposes of motor vehicle financial responsibility and liability insurance requirements. Referred to Assembly Insurance
 
AB-181 Abortion Providers (Brandtjen, Janel) Certification of abortion providers in the Medical Assistance program. Referred to Assembly Health
Capitol Update is a periodic e-mail on legislative issues from the Wisconsin Catholic Conference.
 
Wisconsin Catholic Conference
131 W. Wilson St., Suite 1105
Madison, WI 53703
608/257-0004